Nelson received $539 worth of wine from Potomac Partners, a Washington D.C.-based lobbying firm, a few weeks after he cast a deciding vote to award them a county contract. He says his approach is legal because he paid the contractors for the items out of campaign funds and will use them at an office event.

In an official response to the Orange County Grand Jury’s June report, which called the jailhouse informant scandal a “myth,” District Attorney Tony Rackauckas agreed with most of the report’s findings, except for those which criticized his department for a lack of training protocols and procedure.

County Supervisors Tuesday unanimously voted to pay Voice of OC $121,396 in legal fees after losing a Superior Court case for refusing to release public records about Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s handcuffing a preacher at a Wahoo’s restaurant.

ByNick Gerda and Jose Ochoa |August 9, 2017

Fire Authority officials say they’ve been performing air rescues for over 20 years and are well-equipped for the job, but that in recent years sheriff’s helicopter crews have been racing to the scene and taking control.

Deputy District Attorney Karen Schatzle, who ran against incumbent Judge Scott Steiner in 2016, has filed an internal claim against the county of Orange alleging District Attorney Tony Rackauckas retaliated against her after she announced her intention to run for office.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of OC Catholic Worker and seven homeless plaintiffs, who allege law enforcement have created additional hardship for homeless people by seizing property and issuing citations while people are away from their belongings, going to the bathroom, attending doctor’s appointments and performing other essential tasks.

ByJose Ochoa |July 31, 2017

The League of Women Voters is “disappointed and dismayed” by the Board of Supervisors’ plan to give supervisors more power over the ethics commission that was approved last year by county voters and called for supervisors to back off.

Over $100 million in taxpayer money has been spent since the most recent audit, which was in 2002. The aging system is proprietary, and no bids have been sought from other companies for its $140 million overhaul.